Carlos Sainz led Ferrari to a
glorious one-two at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday,
finishing just under two-and-a-half seconds clear of his team
mate Charles Leclerc after Red Bull's treble world champion Max
Verstappen had to withdraw early in the race with smoke coming
out of his car.
The Spaniard said the start to the season has been a
"roller-coaster" after notching the third grand prix win of his
career, the first since his triumph in Singapore last year.
It was announced before the start of the season that Sainz would
be leaving Ferrari at the end of it to make way for seven-time
world champions Lewis Hamilton.
He then finished on the podium of the season-opening race in
Bahrain, coming third, but had to miss the Saudi Arabia Grand
Prix earlier this month due to appendicitis surgery.
"It was a really good race; I felt really good out there," said
the 29-year-old.
"I could manage my pace, manage the tyres, manage everything. It
wasn't the toughest race of all, but yeah, very happy, very
proud of the team.
"I'm happy to be in a one-two with Charles here. It shows that
hard work pays off.
"Life sometimes is crazy, what happened at the beginning of
year, then the podium in Bahrain, then the appendix, the
comeback, the win.
"It's a roller-coaster but I loved it and I'm extremely happy".
The second-place finish puts Leclerc on 47 points in the
drivers' standings, just four behind leader Verstappen, while
Sainz is fourth with 40 points.
Ferrari are second in the constructors' standings with 93
points, four behind Red Bull.
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